Cerezo Osaka’s summer transfer activity so far

After the summer transfer window opened early this month, a few players completed the exit from Cerezo Osaka. The most surprising one is Takahiro Ogihara, one of the best talents from our youth setup, joining J1 side Nagoya Grampus. Soon after his leaving from Cerezo Osaka was announced on July 1, he made a debut for Takafumi Ogura’s side against Kawasaki Frontale, but unfortunately he was forced out of the pitch in his second appearance against Kashima Antlers due to an injury, which was eventually diagnosed as a lumbar transverse process fracture.

Other players who decided to leave Cerezo include Bruno Meneghel, Hideo Hashimoto, and Yuki Kotani. Brazilian attacker Bruno Meneghel was the top goalscorer for the team, but decided to go back to China. Experienced defensive midfielder Hideo Hashimoto moved to J3 side AC Nagano Parceiro on loan. He’s got few playing chance at the first team this season and recently played at Cerezo Osaka U-23. Center back Yuki Kotani has captained the U-23 team in some games, but the almost 25 year old defender couldn’t prove himself for the first team after coming back from SC Sagamihara where he played for 10 months on loan last season. He sealed a loan move to Roasso Kumamoto.

During the current transfer window, two players have joined the club, former captain Hotaru Yamaguchi and promising South Korean goalkeeper Ahn Joon-Soo, as this blog reported.

One more addition is very likely to come this week: Besart Abdurahimi. The Macedonian international has already trained with the team, and is currently seen to be waiting for work permission. According to reports, he can make a debut for Cerezo Osaka against Kyoto Sanga at the earliest. Manager Kiyoshi Okuma considers him as a versatile attacking midfielder who mainly plays in the center but can also play as a winger.